Tiare. New Zealand.

Music is very freeing. I’m not good at being vulnerable and it helps open me up... it’s intimate and intense.

One day Mum came home with 2 sitars that a friend was taking to the dump. She wanted to put them on the wall, but I thought damn that’s pretty cool and was like Mum - can you help me find a teacher.

Classical Indian music is a whole different world. I learnt classical piano then jazz piano and jazz bass at school, but the sitar is a completely different language. It’s mental.

I play sitar gigs now and practice with my teacher over Skype. All my Uni friends think it's mad. I am like this white girl Skyping an Indian man with like a gigantic weird Indian instrument that looks like nothing anyone has seen before.

India was amaaaaaazing. I went for the music, but I think all kids coming out of school should go there. It breaks down the sheltered perspectives you have as a teenager. It’s great and horrible too. I’d love to go back to play but would need to psych myself up to stay longer.

Music is very freeing. I’m not good at being vulnerable and it helps open me up. You give your heart and soul; it’s intimate and intense. I have insecurities though; even though you get used to it performances will scare me for the rest of my life.

Also I never used to be able to see my knuckles and playing the guitar I thought everyone was looking at my fat hands. I got a tattoo and would dress them up with rings. But as soon as I grew a bit I got knuckles and was like PHEW, now it’s okay.